A story published Wednesday by online media company roopstigo accuses Auburn University of fixing grades and paying players on the team that beat the University of Oregon for the 2010 BCS national championship.

The story by Selena Roberts said Auburn football created an atmosphere of arrogance that resulted in the school covering up violations during the tenure of former coach Gene Chizik.

Roberts reported that as many as nine players might have been academically ineligible for the bowl game and cited one specific instance of a grade being changed from an F to C for a star player.

Another player, receiver Darvin Adams, said he was offered cash not to turn pro. McNeil and Blanc said in the story that Adams was offered thousands.

Adams refused the money and went undrafted, in part, he told Roberts, because Auburn coaches spoke poorly of him to NFL scouts. He now plays in the Canadian Football League.

Of course, they're in the SEC, so i'm sure nothing will be done about any of this.

In the report, former players say they received money equaling several thousands of dollars to remain in school instead of leaving early for the NFL. One of the former players specifically mentioned a meeting with Muschamp, then the Tigers defensive coordinator.

None of this comes as a surprise in the least. Newton's daddy got paid, they cheated their way to a MYTHICAL national championship and now the (alleged) laundry is becoming public. If this pans out as bad as I suspect it will for Auburn, it is my sincere hope that all the parties involved get slapped around HARD by the karma gods, especially Cam "It's All About Me & Only Me" Newton.

But as J said, "Of course, they're in the SEC, so i'm sure nothing will be done about any of this" just like Newton's daddy getting paid was swept under the rug before the game vs. the Ducks so the NCAA could get their almighty, beloved, can do no wrong SEC another MYTHICAL national championship. Better TV ratings when the SEC wins the MYTHICAL championship you know. And better ratings means more money for the crooked people that run the sport of college football.

A few things seem pretty sketchy about these claims, it's just really hard to believe that players would stay in school for a few hundred dollars passing up on hundreds of thousands in a signing bonus, etc.

Also, the piece I read about the "grade fixing" seemed to be pretty lame. The case I read about mentioned that the player had produced work that would have earned him a B in the class, but was going to get an F because of attendance.... grading on attendance in college is stupid to begin with, but when they are a football player and have a lot of extra engagements they must do to keep their scholarship....

Michael Dyer has already gone on the record stating that he was never in trouble of being ineligible.... As for Cam Newton, it was found that his dad took money from Ole Miss or Miss St., but there was no record of him taking anything from Auburn...

I'm not trying to claim they are totally clean in this, but there are some serious holes in these claims and let's not pretend that the other team in the Title game was clean of wrong doing either....

Michael Dyer has already gone on the record stating that he was never in trouble of being ineligible.... As for Cam Newton, it was found that his dad took money from Ole Miss or Miss St., but there was no record of him taking anything from Auburn...

I'm not trying to claim they are totally clean in this, but there are some serious holes in these claims and let's not pretend that the other team in the Title game was clean of wrong doing either....

You're free to believe whatever you want but the whole "he said he didnt do it therefore he didnt" defense is pretty lame. Richard Sherman said he didnt take Adderol, I don't believe him either.

And if you believe Auburn didnt pay Cam, i've got a bridge to sell you.

Also the woman who is doing the reporting used to work for Sports Illustrated and has worked for the New York Times. She was one of the first to document and write about A-Rod using steroids. So she's a good reporter with a history, not just some hack throwing stuff against the wall.

therealjohncarlson wrote:Jesus how do you get an F in a class? He must have literally just not gone to any classes

This. This. And This.

I knew of a couple guys who played for Univ of Texas going to class with my friends. They had people who were paid tutors who simply took the same classes, took notes for these guys, privately taught them, etc. They don't necessarily cheat, but these guys are having their hands held the whole way through just to keep them eligible. How they continue to fail is beyond me.

I helped a guy go pro once. That is, he failed my class, would have been academically ineligible the following season so he went pro via the supplemental draft. He failed because he didn't do any work. I met with him and a person from the athletic department. He was a good player but I had no pressure whatsoever put on me to pass him or to bump his grade up. Heck, they didn't even ask that he be given extra time to turn in the stuff he missed. Of course it was Spring and not Fall so he really couldn't use football as an excuse for missing anything.

I have known some professors who are real sticklers for attendance. I've also known some people who hate the treatment athletes get. Put the two together and it is entirely plausible that the Auburn player really did do passing level work but that some professor was going to fail him just because he didn't show up. Not saying it did happen, just saying it is plausible. Of course, it's also plausible that the professor was using the player as leverage to get schmoozed by the athletic department. I also know a guy who got a taste of that treatment. It was fairly nice treatment. Maybe me think about trying to fail some players again.

It's Auburn University. And while I'm not so naive to think that money hasn't exchanged hands there, I'm also not so naive to think it hasn't happened at every single top-flight program in the nation (yeah, Oregon too, J).

But the NCAA couldn't find anything. And before you say, "Oh, well that's because it was the SEC1!!11" I'll remind you that Auburn has been hit by the NCAA before. They had a perfect 1993 season where they were ineligible for a bowl due to the sanctions laid down by the NCAA. Other SEC schools have been hit before, too (Alabama, for one). You folks are letting your hatred of the conference color your objectivity on this.

For the record, Auburn didn't "cheat" to get the National Championship. That's sour grapes talking. What we have in this current report is a bunch of completely unsubstantiated "he said, she said" crap. And consider the source... the "reporter" who has broken this Auburn story is the same one that crucified the Duke lacrosse team before the truth was discovered.

two dog wrote:I have no direct knowledge if Cam got paid or not but the smart money would bet thathis daddy Cecil got his.

You wouldn't be lobbying for a belated, after the fact Duck championship would you?Skip, like Pete, left at a rather opportune time. Something with recruiting??

This ought to make the pop off valve go quack. Just funnin'.

Nope. For one thing, it doesnt work that way. If Auburn has to vacate their title, it doesnt go to Oregon. Secondly, I wouldnt want to win a title that way. They beat UO on the field, so UO doesnt deserve to be the champions.

It's Auburn University. And while I'm not so naive to think that money hasn't exchanged hands there, I'm also not so naive to think it hasn't happened at every single top-flight program in the nation (yeah, Oregon too, J).

For the record, Auburn didn't "cheat" to get the National Championship. That's sour grapes talking. What we have in this current report is a bunch of completely unsubstantiated "he said, she said" crap. And consider the source... the "reporter" who has broken this Auburn story is the same one that crucified the Duke lacrosse team before the truth was discovered.

For the record, I have never once denied the fact that Oregon screwed up and broke rules (although I believe it was more working in a grey area then blatant cheating). I believe every big time football school in America could be found guilty of wrong doing if investigators looked hard enough.

I also have no sour grapes, nor did I say they cheated their way to a title. They won it on the field. I don't hate the Steelers for beating the Seahawks in the Super Bowl and I dont dislike Auburn for beating the Ducks. I was simply bringing up a topic for conversation. I've posted links about the Ducks being in trouble before as well.

Prediction: This woman reporter is holding proof back and allowing the parties involved to dig themselves deeper before bringing to the light the evidence. I've got nothing to base this on other than the fact that she thus far in her career has been reputable and I don't see her going in a different direction now. I could be wrong of course.

I've been wondering for a while what was going to happen of all this. I can't find the article, but I remember reading one in 2011 that stated that a member of the BoT at Auburn owns a small casino, and was using it to pay players using gaming cards and fixed machines. If the corruption is truly that high, then Auburn is completely and royally screwed. I remember that it was being investigated by the Feds.

"You can hurry up all you want. But if you can't get yards and can't complete passes, then it's just quick three-and-outs." -- Richard Sherman